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SL 2014-7 exempts the annual Possum Drop from the state's existing animal cruelty laws - all for a few hours of entertainment.

Goal:75,000•Progress:66,489

Sponsored by:The Rainforest Site

Large crowds, live music, and loud fireworks — it would have all the hallmarks of a typical New Year’s celebration, if not for the terrified opossum dangled in a cramped box over the cheering mob. This is Brasstown’s annual “Opossum Drop,” which adds a North Carolina “twist” on the prominent ball drop in Time Square. (See the video under “More about this issue” for a first-hand look.)

In recent years, event organizers have faced increased pressure from animal advocates, culminating in a lawsuit that prevented use of a live opossum in the 2013 event. Not to be deterred, State Representative Roger West (who also happens to sponsor the Opossum Drop) introduced a bill (HB 1131) “to exempt Clay County from state wildlife laws with respect to opossums between the dates of December 26 and January 2.” The bill became law in June 2014.

An implicit acknowledgement that the event violates the state’s existing wildlife laws, this law sets a poor precedent, prioritizing personal and commercial interests over animal welfare. Worse still, this “family friendly” event teaches young kids in attendance that it’s okay to masquerade animal abuse as entertainment.

This leaves us until the end of the year to let North Carolina’s General Assembly know we don’t tolerate this brand of animal cruelty. Fortunately, a trio of Senators that serve on the state’s Environment Committee also voted against this awful piece of legislation. Sign below to stand behind them and call on a law to repeal SL 2014-7.

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As members of the state’s Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources, I am writing to you to ask you continue standing up against animal cruelty in all of its manifestations. Specifically, this is a request to repeal SL 2014-7, which permits Brasstown, NC to continue using live opossums in their annual New Year’s celebration, the “Opossum Drop.” All but the event’s most ardent supporters recognize this façade for what it is — animal cruelty masquerading as entertainment.

The Opossum Drop is especially dangerous in its depictions of animal cruelty. Billed as a “family friendly” event, the celebration dresses up torture and animal abuse in a veneer of frivolity that belies the tragic underpinnings of the event. Each year, organizers capture and confine the typically reclusive marsupial in a cramped space where it is left to dangle above thousands of cheering onlookers as they celebrate with loud music, fireworks, and even musket fire.

Concerned citizens are dismissed as hippie killjoys out to ruin a town tradition in the name of political correctness. But “tradition” often serves as a last refuge for anachronistic practices that fall from social favor. Opossum Drop’s defenders are particularly disingenuous, ignoring the fact that the event was fabricated in 1990 as a desperate marketing ploy for the tiny Appalachian town. Since then, the event has quickly enshrined a public display of animal cruelty that now enjoys state protection.

Those same supporters also argue the captive opossum receives better treatment than a wild opossum and then is released back into the wild after the event. Yet reams of evidence and experts counter that the abducted mammal suffers potentially lethal trauma from the exposure and likely perishes shortly after release. Opossums are nocturnal creatures that prefer dark and secure areas — not a Plexiglas case left hanging above a rambunctious crowd during a fireworks show.

A replica could easily stand in for these unfortunate opossums and prevent any potential for abuse — not to mention the mounting cost of legal battles in courtrooms and the state legislature — while carrying on the tradition. In fact, true adherents should recall the very first Opossum Drop used a ceramic replica and only later introduced the live opossum.

As it stands now, Opossum Drop’s only legacy is one of animal cruelty, teaching future generations that such mistreatment is not only tolerated, but actually encouraged. The punchline of many jokes, it’s easy and even tempting to dismiss the troubles of this solitary marsupial. It gives me some hope to see a small enclave of reason and empathy operating in an environment dominated by personal and commercial interests.

Please, do what you can to convince your colleagues and your constituents that SL 2014-7 is a shameful law and needs repealed immediately.

Sincerely,

(The Undersigned)

Petition Signatures

Feb 21, 2018Pixie indigo moon Findlay Moore

Feb 21, 2018Lonnie Almeida

Feb 21, 2018Toni Peters

Feb 21, 2018(Name not displayed)

Feb 21, 2018Ann Conney

Feb 20, 2018renay lawrence

Feb 20, 2018Sarah Mallows

Feb 20, 2018gillard claudine

Feb 20, 2018Socorro Wapelhorst

Feb 20, 2018Melanie Blackburn

Feb 20, 2018Anne BrownAnimals deserve our protection.

Feb 20, 2018Mary Bartlett

Feb 19, 2018Dana Duran

Feb 19, 2018Eric Maxwell

Feb 19, 2018Jenny Fortsch

Feb 19, 2018DAVID ORTIZ

Feb 19, 2018Linda Ramirez

Feb 18, 2018Maria Boggs

Feb 18, 2018Wanda Anthony

Feb 18, 2018Judith Pelletier

Feb 18, 2018ciszak anthony

Feb 18, 2018Lynne Burnell

Feb 18, 2018Christine Covindassamy

Feb 17, 2018Mary Rothschild

Feb 17, 2018(Name not displayed)

Feb 17, 2018Meghan Fialkoff

Feb 17, 2018Anna Sotolongo

Feb 17, 2018Bern Dra

Feb 17, 2018Charlene Houchins

Feb 15, 2018Robin Blakesley

Feb 15, 2018LINDA LAYMAN

Feb 15, 2018Sheila Musselmann

Feb 15, 2018Ingrid Kozaczek

Feb 14, 2018veronique Charvet

Feb 14, 2018Rebecca Burnett

Feb 14, 2018Joe Zavis

Feb 14, 2018Jane Chin

Feb 11, 2018Julie Haugen

Feb 11, 2018Connie Elmore

Feb 10, 2018Nalini PersadWhy is this considered entertainment

Feb 10, 2018(Name not displayed)

Feb 10, 2018Renee GurovichAllowing people to use dead animals or killing animals for entertainment is psyco! Thats like telling them its okay to kill for happiness.